Every year, 4 days go by faster than anyone can imagine possible! Four days see more cardboard laid out, dice rolled and cards flipped than any other time in the United States. I'm talking
of course, about Gen Con!

This year, Gen Con was packed to the gills with awesomeness around every corner you turned! We brought home a lot of games, a few kindly given to us and a lot purchased and we'd like to
share them all with you... well, virtually at least, in our latest Critical Strike!

Normally we only do three micro game reviews in a Critical Strike, but there was so much amazing stuff at Gen Con, some of which that is on, or close to, your local store's shelves, we had to
cram it all in! I apologize in advance the lost productivity, but no matter your tastes, there should be a game in here for you!

Abstract games can sometimes be challenged in the marketplace. Sometimes their theme doesn't connect with masses, sometimes their replay value isn't there and other times, they just only
hit a niche market.

Thankfully, Keep the Crown, our latest Critical Preview, bucks these issues! We were contacted by Jamal Green, the project owner (on Kickstarter right now) and it immediately looked interesting. It looked like an app game too,
but more on that in the video below!

If you like placement games (chips or tiles), light enough theme for adults and young gamers to enjoy, and a game that's always changing, always offering you new choices, and lets you rack up the
points, Keep the Crown may be for you!

We play a lot of kickstarter beta/prototypes... a LOT! Some of this is done in preparation for a Critical Preview and some is just good old fashioned "can you look at my game?" type stuff.
In either case, we love getting a chance to play new things, new ideas, and new mechanics.

Why am I tell you this? Because Infamy, from Mercury Games and Travis R. Chance, is easily one of the three best kickstarter games I've played this year! I'm very happy to bring you a
Critical Preview of a game that is almost about to end it's kickstarter program (so if you are interested, check it out fast!) but has a load of excitement and fun waiting for you!

Infamy combines bidding, worker placement, and resource management/mission completion mechanics into the well designed world of ARES-6, a martian mining colony. Your role? Be a
freelancer criminal and take over one of the gangs on ARES-6, or, gain enough Infamy to rule on your own!

I was, am, and always will be a huge Car Wars fan. The concept of racing down a highway and spitting flamethrowers at enemies, spilling oil slicks behind me, and firing rockets at
helicopters had me spend so much money in my youth on Car Wars and Spy Hunter it's amazing I didn't become a stunt car driver!

At Gen Con this year, I had the opportunity to meet two gentlemen who are rebooting their Kickstarter that is all about everything us vehicular combat specialists love; Road Kill - Ultimate Car
Combat! We took some live footage and had the chance to talk with Miles and Greg, who started, stopped, improved, and are back to wow you with everything the roads can handle! If you
are interested in their project after watching our video, check out the links below to see more! Until then, set your rockets to heat seeking, and watch your rear view mirror!

Lords of Waterdeep took the gaming community by storm from Wizards of the Coast. It was a beautiful, engaging, and a well designed worker placement game deeply rooted in the Dungeons and
Dragon's city of Waterdeep. A city filled with danger, intruige, dring quests and great rewards.

Now though, there are new locations for your Agents to explore. Nestled deep beneath the city though lies the Undermountain; a dark, dangerous cavern filled with riches and deadly
consequences. Meanwhile nearby, in Skullport Harbor, underhanded deals are commonplace, turning the most righteous person into a corrupt individual. Can you navigate these new
locations, secure the most points and become the Lord of Waterdeep?

5th Street games has a rather successful and entertaining looking kickstarter on their hands, with a 3D set up of Monster Mayhem and 'Copter Chaos, calls Smash Monster Rampage! As you
can imagine, this isn't a stroll through central park!

Smash Monster Rampage looks to capture all the fun of a gigantic monster thrashing through a well built, but seemingly fragile city, setting buildings on fire, gobbling up pedestrians, and
driving the military to bring out the big guns! In this case, the big guns are tanks and helicopters that will shoot at, and hopefully destroy, said big bad monster.

This is a solo or fully cooperative game that is being brought to you by the same company that produced Farmageddon and Jungle Ascent, both successfully funded on kickstarter. If
you'd like to learn more after watching our Critical Preview, head on over to their project page today and if you like it, you may be able to help them "smash" their goals!